In a stark warning to world leaders, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for immediate action on climate change at the 31st Conference of Parties (COP31) in Antalya, Turkey. The UN chief accused the fossil fuel lobby of delaying climate action and urged the phase-out of coal, gas, and oil as energy sources to avert disasters. Guterres emphasized that the world is currently on a path towards destruction due to increasing emissions and shattered heat records, stating this could lead to mutually assured destruction. Key attendees at the summit include Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham is the sole leader from a G7 country scheduled to address the summit. The EU chief Ursula von der Leyen is also participating, while several other world leaders are absent.
The United States, one of the world's largest historical emitters of greenhouse gases, has skipped the talks for the second consecutive year. COP31 host Turkey is championing a voluntary initiative to accelerate electrification in transport, buildings, and industry, aiming to increase electricity's share of global energy consumption to 35% by 2035. However, this proposal has sparked debate over the role of oil, gas, and coal in electrification. The UN chief called for countries to hasten their transition to clean energy sources, stating that over-reliance on fossil fuels not only harms the climate but also negatively impacts economies, as exemplified by surging petroleum prices.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian intends to use the event to express Tehran's position on environmental destruction caused by US and Israeli actions during war. A recent UN report indicates that the world is on track to exceed the 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7F) warming limit agreed upon in the Paris Agreement, which could exacerbate the worst effects of climate change. This year has also witnessed a series of extreme heatwaves across Western Europe and a glacier collapse in Nepal that triggered a catastrophic flash flood, resulting in over 1,500 fatalities and thousands still missing.